Jordan Defends Rookie Drivers

Former team boss Eddie Jordan has jumped to the defence of his outfit's new owners after criticisms about their decision to sign rookies Narain Karthikeyan and Tiago Monteiro for this season.

In the wake of questions being asked by rival boss Christian Horner about a team taking on two drivers with no race experience, Jordan claims that only time will be able to judge whether it was the correct choice or not.

He cites the example of his team having the then vastly inexperienced Giancarlo Fisichella and Ralf Schumacher on board in 1997 â€" and then coming close to winning the Argentine Grand Prix just three races into the campaign.

"Jordan have two very inexperienced drivers in Tiago Monteiro and Narain Karthikeyan, but in 1997 I went into the season with two novices in Giancarlo Fisichella and Ralf Schumacher and they nearly won the first race," Jordan told The Guardian.

"These kids would never get the chance in F1 had it not been for Jordan's philosophy. We recruited Zsolt Baumgartner, F1's first Hungarian driver, and now we have the first Indian. It opens up new markets.

"We took the chance in 1982 with Ayrton Senna and in '85 I gave Damon Hill his first drive in Formula 3. You can't be sure how it's going to turn out."

Horner had been quick to criticise the decision of Jordan to take on Karthikeyan and Monteiro â€" especially after Red Bull Racing chose the vastly experienced David Coulthard to leads their effort.

"I think to go in with two such green drivers is a mistake," Horner said at the time. "Formula One is a totally different animal to any other formula."